


If Love Is So Easy, Why Is It Hard?

by orphan_account



Category: Game Grumps
Genre: AU, Coming of Age, Fluff, M/M, My First AO3 Post, My First Work in This Fandom, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Soulmate AU, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, Such as:
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-03-27
Updated: 2016-04-02
Packaged: 2018-05-29 10:14:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,087
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6370861
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Arin and Dan live in a world where your soulmate's name suddenly appears on your wrist one day. You have no choice over who your soulmate is, what gender they are, or when you get your name. This can make life difficult. So can having a soulmate with a common name. Soulmate stuff is hard sometimes.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Names

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Life was better.
> 
> Then Arin turned 14.

Arin had always been on the softer end of the scale. Not necessarily chubby, just softer. Sweeter. His mom had always told him that he had a little extra spark, something that most kids didn't have, that made him more cute as a child, and more kind as he grew older. To Arin, this was a curse. Not because it made him kinder, but because it made some kids meaner. For reasons Arin could never understand, the bullies would always target him, always find the best ways to wound him and, as soon as the wound became too painful, they'd disappear until they could come back and rip the band-aid off once more. This became Arin's routine: Wake up, brush his teeth, go to school, get bullied on the playground, bite back the tears, come home, rinse, repeat. This turned a little easier when he started at the junior high. The bullies were more interested in showing off to girls than picking on him, and Arin met Ross, originally from Australia, whose parents moved to California due to their job. Life was better.

Then Arin turned 14. 

It was the summer before High School. Arin was absolutely terrified. He had taken a tour of the high school with the rest of the eighth grade a few days before school had ended. The High School was fucking huge! Two stories, a shit ton of hallways, and offices for everything imaginable! There was an attendance office, a main office, a guidance office.....

"I mean, if there's going to be any more offices, they might as well call it 'office school', right?" Arin smirked as he hung upside-down off the side of his bed.

"I know! What's next, a 'lunch office'?" Ross laughed from his spot at Arin's desk. They had planned to play video games on Arin's Super Nintendo, but they had ended up chilling as they waited for Arin's mom to call them down for "snacks". Both knew that the snacks were going to be more like dinner. 

"Maybe a restroom office? 'Could Ross please come down to the office for his daily shit?'" Arin imitated the office worker from the junior high as Ross laughed hysterically. He grinned at his ability to make his friend laugh so hard. He loved spending time with his friends, especially when Barry was able to come over as well, because they always ended up in hysterical tears by the end of the night. 

"Be right back." Arin hopped of his bed and chuckled as Ross struggled for breath. Walking to the bathroom, Arin glanced at the familiar photos of his family decorating the walls. As a kid, he had loved hearing the stories of how his mom found his dad, when their name tattoos had appeared on each other, and how it only took a year to find each other. Arin only hoped he would be so lucky as to have a soul mate with an uncommon name or spelling. That was one of the reasons his own parents had given him a more unique spelling, instead of "Aaron". Lost in though, he almost didn't notice the name on his wrist. Almost.

"Oh my god!" Arin whispered. Then he yelled. Insanely glad that he noticed when washing his hands, Arin quickly showed his mom when she ran to the bathroom in a blind panic fearing the worst. His mom's expression went from panic to excitement when she saw the reason for his exclamation.

"Oh, Arin! I'm so happy for you honey!" She gathered him into a hug, allowing Arin to see Ross standing behind her.

"Ross, look! My soul mate's name has appeared!" He shoved his wrist into Ross's face and Ross quickly joined in the joyous excitement.

It took a little while for the excitement to die down, with the boys being taken out for celebratory ice cream and Ross being taken home afterwards. Arin finally settled down for bed and stared at the name on his wrist. Drooping eyes eventually getting the best of him, he fell asleep that night with a smile on his face and only one word on his mind:

 

"Dan"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this chapter was so short. I wrote it at 1 AM.... That's apparently when inspiration strikes me.


	2. Arcades

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Arin quickly entered "But" into the 5 spot."
> 
>  
> 
> This is how you summary right? ;)

Dan was tall. Lanky with curly hair that he had allowed to grow out into more of an Afro than anything else. He hadn't always looked this way, however. Barry could remember when Dan was short and kind of scrawny. Barry could remember a younger Dan being picked on for his father's heavy accent. Dan wasn't the type to put up his fists, but he could spit verbal insults like that was his born purpose. Kids stopped messing with Dan over time, and Dan became more of a jokester, using his spitfire ability to make kids around him laugh instead of putting up a defense every time a kid came near him. Barry was proud of how far his friend had come-

"Bear are you listening? I just made like 5 different dick jokes and you didn't even giggle!" Dan exaggeratedly leaned backwards over Barry's beanbag and threw his arms out. 

"Sorry dude, I was just thinking." Barry laughed at his friend.

"Ooo, sounds dangerous. Anyway, I was just saying that.... What was I saying? I don't even remember." Dan glanced down at his phone as it dinged. 

"Hey, Ross wants to get together later at the arcade. He says he has a friend he wants me to meet. You up for it?" Danny explained the text as Barry walked towards him.

"I'm always ready for video games. Did he say who's coming with?" Barry peeked at Dans phone as Dan sent 'We'll be there' to Ross. 

"No, he just said it was a surprise. You never know with Ross, dude. It might be his pet Mouse for all I know." Dan laughed at his own joke as he scrambled up from beanbag chair.

"That thing is like quicksand, man!" Dan pointed towards the beanbag chair.

"Believe me, I know," Barry laughed. "Come on, let's head to the arcade. If we get there early we'll just play some games."

"Yeah." Dan replied, following Barry down the stairs and waving goodbye to Barry's mom after Barry explained where they were going.

"Okay honey, see you later! Stay out of trouble!" Barry's mom yelled as they walked out the door.

~

 

"Ross where the hell are we going? OW!" Arin yelped as he collided with _ANOTHER_ tree. Allowing Ross to blindfold and lead him was the worst idea he'd had in quite a while.

"It's a surprise! And sorry." Ross smirked as he purposefully allowed Arin to bump into a bench. He kept Arin steady as he once again almost tripped. 

"Godammit Ross!" Arin cursed. Why, _why_ did he ever think this would be an okay idea?

"Okay, we're here!" Ross finally stopped and Arin quickly took off the blindfold to glare at Ross before looking to see that they had arrived at.... _The arcade?_

"Ross we go here all the time what kind of surprise is this?" Leave it to Ross to say that a place they go to weekly is a "surprise".

"Okay, the location isn't a surprise, but you'll see..." Ross led his friend inside as Arin rolled his eyes. 

"Sure I will." Arin stood as Ross scanned the arcade. 

"Oh. Guess they're not here yet." Ross looked disappointedly back at Arin before springing to the Pac-Man machine. Arin ran to keep up with Ross's sudden burst of energy.

"Who isn't here yet? _What are you talking about?_ " Arin sighed as Ross ignored him and started the game. He scanned the arcade before choosing to play Dig-Dug. Not 'Dig-Dug 2', Arin didn't need fancy, he just wanted to pump it and go. 

"Pump it and go..." Arin whispered to himself and giggled. Accidental dick jokes are the best kind of dick jokes. At least, in Arin's opinion they are. He inserted a quarter into the machine and watched as the screen exchanged "Insert a coin" to "Player 1 Ready". Quickly settling into his groove, Arin didn't even notice someone sidle up next to his machine.

"ARIN THE SURPRISE IS HERE!" Ross yelled into Arin's ear just as Arin was about to beat the level. 

"ROSS WHAT THE HELL DUDE?" Arin jumped and yelled as he watched a Fygar burn his last remaining life into a crisp. Glaring at a giggling Ross, Arin quickly entered "But" into the 5 spot. 

"I could have been number one! GodDAMMIT Ross!" Arin sighed as Ross broke into loud laughter. Looking around to see if anyone had noticed his outbursts, he saw that Barry was standing near the snack counter talking to a tall... guy? _That's a lot of hair for one dude, but it looks awesome!_ Arin thought.

Leaving the still hysterical Ross behind, Arin walked over to Barry and greeted him with a fist bump.

"Yo, what are you up to?" Arin questioned his friend.

"Ross texted Danny here to meet him at the arcade. He said he had someone he wanted Danny to meet. I'm betting that's you. Arin, Daniel Avidan. Danny, Arin Hanson." Barry gestured to them both as they sized each other up. Up close, it was clear that while Danny looked taller next to Barry, Arin and Dan were actually near the same height.

"Hey dude!" Danny greeted Arin with a fist bump. 

"I like your hair. Really fluffy." Arin responded, unsure of Danny's personality and not wanting to start off on the wrong foot, he decided to hold off on his normal jokes and greetings for now. Flattery is the best policy, anyway.

"I like yours as well." Dan gestured to Arin's head. Arin's own hair was only a little under his ears, but he had been trying to grow it out. 

"Thanks! I've been thinking of adding a blond streak, but I'm going to wait until it's longer..." Arin trailed off as he noticed Danny's eyes focused on his wrist. He had forgotten about the name. In the two weeks that the name had appeared, the excitement had died down and seeing the name on his wrist had become so routine that he no longer gave it a second thought. 

"You have your soulmate? Have you found them yet?" Dan questioned. He looked almost sad.

"Oh, no. The name just appeared like, two weeks ago. Do you have yours yet?" Danny shook his head, and Arin gave him a supporting smile. 

"Hey, let's play some games!" Barry interrupted as he came back from buying a pretzel and a soda. Danny seemed to light up, and Arin made his way back to the Dig-Dug machine. He was determined to get the high-score.

"Hey, do you mind if I watch you play?" Danny inquired, and Arin shook his head as he stuck a quarter in the machine.

"Not at all. Do you mind if I provide commentary as I play?" He questioned, and Dan seemed to light up even more.

"You do that too? Awesome. Good luck, man!" He said, and Arin fell into his favorite routine in the world, making stupid jokes while playing video games.

 

~

"Do you really think that Dan is Arin's soul mate?" Barry questioned Ross as they watched the two of them laughing from afar.

"I do. Only time will tell, as soon as Danny receives his name...." Ross glanced once again at the name on his own wrist before he looked again at Barry. 

"Only time will tell...."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oooo was that foreshadowing at the end? In more than one way? I don't know, it could have been... Honestly I can't decide what other pairings I want besides Dan/Arin but I'll decide eventually! 
> 
> I dissapointed myself because apparently I only have Dig-Dug 2 and I wanted to play Dig-Dug :(  
> Time to look it up and find an online emulator!


	3. Restaurants

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 'They're almost definitely soul mates.'

"Dammit, I died again!" Dan watched as Arin's screen once again changed to a 'GAME OVER'. Arin sighed and stared at the machine for a moment before looking at Dan.

"I'm done. Do you want to play?" Dan glanced at the machine before shaking his head.

"No way dude. It's a lot more fun to watch you and make jokes." Arin nodded in understanding.

"Yeah, I get what you mean. Well, I'm getting kind of tired of video games. Do you want to go eat?"

"Hell yeah! I could totally go for a burger right now. Come on, I know just the place!" Arin followed as Dan led him outside and down the streets before stopping in his tracks.

"Hey, hang on. Let me text Ross so they don't wonder where we went." Dan nodded as Arin quickly typed a text updating Ross and Barry. Gesturing for Dan to lead on, Arin wondered where they could be heading, and if he had ever been there. Lost in his thoughts, Arin almost ran into Dan when he stopped.

"We're here! Have you ever been here before?" Arin looked up to see the giant "In-N-Out Burger" sign. Despite living in California for all of his young life, Arin had never been to In-N-Out. As he shook his head, Arin watched Dan's expression change from inquisitive to surprised.

"Really? Holy crap. Get ready for some of the best burgers in your life, then!" Dan said, and dragged Arin into the restaurant. After being sat down in what Dan called "the best booth in the resteraunt", Arin took the time to examine the booths and tables. It was busy, but not nearly as busy as Arin expected it to be.

"I'll order for you, to make sure that you get the absolute best on the menu. Stay here." And with that Dan was up at the counter and Arin was left to his own thoughts. With nothing to really think about, he decided to eavesdrop a bit on the table next to him, filled with some girls he recognized from older classes at High School.

"Haven't you heard? Jenessa got her name, and apparently it's RYAN! Can you believe that? There's no way Ryan is her soulmate!" A blonde one said.

"Well I've heard that Ryan hasn't gotten his name yet. If that's true, than Jenessa might not be his soulmate." The redhead sitting next to her stated. Remembering his own name, Arin looked down at his wrist. Dan. Who could that be? The only Dan he knows is....

"Here comes food!" Arin was startled out of his thoughts as a burger was placed in front of him. He watched as Danny quickly scrambled into the booth chair across from him, and immediately picked up his own burger before looking again at Arin with his mouth half ready to take a giant bite.

"..... What?" Arin grinned at this odd, wild-haired boy across from him before finally picking up his own burger. Dan watched as Arin took a bite, curious as to how Arin would react to his first In-N-Out burger. The look of wonder that seemed to cross Arin's face before he dived right back in to his burger was enough for Dan to return to his own burger. Eating in relative silence until each boy's burger was gone, Dan watched as Arin finished his burger before speaking.

"What did you think? Best burgers since ever or what?"

"Amazing. How could I not know that these existed?" Arin leaned back and contentedly sighed, patting his stomach for good measure.

"EXACTLY! People just think 'oh it's just a fast-food place, it's not going to be very good' but I sincerely think In-N-Out's burgers are something truly special." Arin watched as Dan focused on nothing, clearly thinking deeply about something.

"I totally get it. So, um, hey...." Arin trailed off, biting his lip a little as he regained his thought train.. "How long have you known Barry and Ross? They've just never really mentioned you before, so I was kind of wondering..."

"I've only known Barry for a couple months, actually. He and I had talked a few times in class, but it wasn't until one half-day that we had the entire class crying of laughter that we really formed a friendship. Nothing like stupid-almost-innapropriate-jokes to form a friendship, y'know? I just met Ross last month. He tagged along with Barry once when we were meeting to hang out and he's been a good friend ever since, though he is a bit of of a... oh, how do I put it...."

"Self-righteous asshole?" Arin smirked and Danny burst out laughing, disturbing the table of girls behind them.

"Yeah! That's a good way to put it. He's a good friend though." Arin nodded in agreement. No matter how much of an asshole Ross could be, you could always count on him to be there when you needed him.

"There they are!" Arin spun around in his chair to see Barry and Ross walking towards them.

"Well, speak of the devil." Dan laughed as they sat down.

"So you guys were talking about us. Hope you said something about my amazing hair, or video game skills, or..." Ross listed off traits before Arin interrupted.

"All bad things, all bad things." He assured Ross with a smirk. "Anyway, Danny, I was about to ask you for your phone number. Here." Arin said, handing over his phone. Dan typed in his number and a message before handing the phone back over and pulling out his own. Arin glanced at the message Dan had written to himself.

_Yo this is Arin, you know, that fucking rad video game dude you met? Also butt stuff._ Arin chuckled to himself. If he had any doubts about Danny's character after commentating video games with him, they were definitely cleared up now. He saw Ross and Barry exchange some sort of look out of the corner of his eye, but he didn't pay them any attention as Dan sent him a message.

_Danny Sexbang in the hiz-ouse. Not saying that again. Who even thought up 'hiz-ouse'?_ Arin's eyebrow quirked up.

_Danny Sexbang?_ He typed.

_Yeah. When I start a band one day that's going to be my alias. Awesome, right?_

_I like it. We should be in a band together one day._

_Definetely._ Arin looked up smiling at Danny to see Danny smiling right back. Unbeknownst to the two, Ross and Barry exchanged another look. Barry took out his own phone to text Ross. 

_They're almost definitely soul mates._

_I ship it._ Ross laughed to himself. Barry shot him a bemused look.

"What are you laughing about Ross? Hmm?" Danny leaned over to try to look at Ross's screen. Ross quickly switched out of his messages. 

"Nothing. Nothing at all..." There was no way Ross would ever mess up Dan and Arin's friendship just because they're probably soul mates. If they were going to fall in love, it needed to be on their own. And Ross knew just how to help them on their way......

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Arin seems to be realizing something, maybe?
> 
> Don't take the Ross jokes the wrong way. I love Ross and he's a great dude, I'd never seriously insult him and neither would Dan or Arin.
> 
> I didn't intend for all the chapter titles to be one word, but it seems to work well so I think I'm just going to keep making them only one word. For now, anyway,
> 
> Fun fact: I've never been to In-N-Out Burger. I had to ask my friend from California what it's like. She told me that we have to take a road trip to California one day solely to eat In-N-Out Burger. I take that to mean it's very tasty.

**Author's Note:**

> Hey! Yeah, you! Thanks for reading!
> 
> I try to update every weekend, but I cant guarantee it. I can guarantee at least one update a month, however! So stay tuned!
> 
> Questions? Comments? Concerns? Comment down below or send me a ask/chat with me at anniewhovian.tumblr.com. I also post when I update this story on my tumblr, so if you want to be sure to not miss any updates go ahead and hit that follow button!  
> Look in the tag "Annie writes" for news specifically relating to this story!
> 
> See you soon! <3


End file.
